BELL 47 G-3B-1 (SOLOY)

The Bell 47 is a very good witness for the history of helicopter development. Obtaining its flight approval on 08 Dec 1947, the Bell 47 was the first civilian helicopter worldwide and also one of the most successful ones. All in all, more than 16,000 aircraft of this type, in different variants, have been produced so far. At the beginning, these helicopters were driven by piston engines. Later on, many of them, also the one belonging to the Flying Bulls, got turbine propulsion.

The helicopter exhibited at the AIRPOWER11 was built in 1966, leaving us unclear as to his history until 1988. After this period, it was used as a spraying platform for herbicides in Germany, a time where it suffered a rather hard landing and therefore needed general overhauling. Since 2003, the Bell 47, with its distinctive glass cockpit, has been enriching the aircraft fleet of the Flying Bulls.